Risk unit based policies

ABSTRACT

Methods, computer-readable media, systems and apparatuses for determining and implementing risk unit based insurance policies are presented. A user may receive a plurality of risk units associated with an insurance policy. The risk units may be stored in a risk unit account associated with the user, the vehicle, etc. During operation of the vehicle, sensor data may be received. The sensor data may provide information associated with driving behaviors of the user, environmental conditions in which the vehicle is being operated, and the like. A consumption rate of the risk units may be determined based, at least in part, on the received sensor data. If a number of risk units in a risk unit account is below a predetermined threshold, a notification may be transmitted to the user and/or a predetermined number of risk units may be automatically added to the risk unit account.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to co-pendingU.S. application Ser. No. 15/170,084, filed Jun. 1, 2016, and entitled“Risk Unit Based Policies,” which is a divisional of and claims priorityto U.S. application Ser. No. 14/607,662 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,390,452),filed Jan. 28, 2015, and entitled “Risk Unit Based Policies,” which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various aspects of the disclosure relate to risk unit based insurancesystems for determining and implementing risk unit based insurancepolicies. More specifically, aspects of the disclosure relate todetermining a risk unit, providing a plurality of risk units to a user,receiving and analyzing various driver data, vehicle data, and/ordriving trip data, determining a consumption rate of risk units (orother units within an account) and reducing a balance in a risk unitaccount based on the consumption rate in accordance with risk unit basedinsurance policies.

BACKGROUND

Vehicle insurance policies are generally purchased by insurancecustomers from various insurance providers. Conventional policiesgenerally provide coverage to the user for a term of the policy based onpayment of a premium associated with the policy. Such term basedpolicies might not account for driving behaviors, environmentalconditions, or the like. Rather, coverage may be provided for the term,regardless of how, where, when, etc. the driver operates the vehicle.

Many vehicles include sensors and internal computer systems designed tostore and monitor driving data, vehicle operation data, drivingconditions, and driving functions. Many vehicles also include one ormore communication systems designed to send and receive information frominside or outside the vehicle. Such information can include, forexample, vehicle operational data, driving conditions, andcommunications from other vehicles or systems.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the disclosure. The summary is not anextensive overview of the disclosure. It is neither intended to identifykey or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope ofthe disclosure. The following summary merely presents some concepts ofthe disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the descriptionbelow.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to methods, computer-readable media,and apparatuses for determining and implementing risk unit basedinsurance policies. In some arrangements, a user may receive a pluralityof risk units associated with an insurance policy, such as an autoinsurance policy. The risk units may be stored in a risk unit accountassociated with the user, the vehicle, etc. During operation of thevehicle, sensor data may be received. The sensor data may provideinformation associated with driving behaviors of the user, environmentalconditions in which the vehicle is being operated, and the like. Aconsumption rate of the risk units may be determined based, at least inpart, on the received sensor data. Consumption rate may also be based onadditional factors, such as driving experience, policy coverage, vehiclefeatures, and the like. In some examples, the consumption rate may bebased on a combination of factors or on only sensor data factors or onlyother factors not determined based on sensor data. Accordingly, as thevehicle is operated, a number or balance of risk units in the risk unitaccount may be reduced based on the determined consumption rate.

In some examples, a determination may be made as to whether a number orbalance of risk units in the risk unit account is below a predeterminedthreshold. If so, a notification may be transmitted to the user. In somearrangements, the notification may include a request for user input topurchase additional risk units (e.g., a request for user inputidentifying a number of additional risk units to purchase, paymentinformation, etc.). In some examples, upon determining that the balanceof risk units in the risk unit account is below the predeterminedthreshold, a predetermined number of risk units may be added to the riskunit account and a cost associated with purchase of the additional riskunits may be paid automatically using predetermined or prestored paymentinformation.

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent fromthe additional description provided herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention and theadvantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the followingdescription in consideration of the accompanying drawings, in which likereference numbers indicate like features, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates computing systems and a network environment that maybe used to implement aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an example risk unit based insurance system according to oneor more aspects described herein.

FIG. 3 is an example risk unit based insurance system environmentillustrating various communications between vehicles-based devices, apersonal mobile device, and an insurance system server, according to oneor more aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of generating arisk unit based insurance policy and implementing the risk unit basedinsurance policy according to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 5 is an example user interface providing information to a userregarding a risk unit consumption rate according to one or more aspectsdescribed herein.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of providing oneor more risk unit account refill options to a user, according to one ormore aspects described herein.

FIGS. 7A-7D are example user interfaces that may be provided to a userto facilitate risk unit account replenishment according to one or moreaspects described herein.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of generatingsuggested modifications to driving behaviors in order to improve riskunit consumption rate, according to one or more aspects describedherein.

FIG. 9 is an example user interface providing one or more recommendeddriving behavior modifications to a user, according to one or moreaspects described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and inwhich is shown by way of illustration, various embodiments of thedisclosure that may be practiced. It is to be understood that otherembodiments may be utilized.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art upon reading thefollowing disclosure, various aspects described herein may be embodiedas a method, a computer system, or a computer program product.Accordingly, those aspects may take the form of an entirely hardwareembodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combiningsoftware and hardware aspects. Furthermore, such aspects may take theform of a computer program product stored by one or morecomputer-readable storage media having computer-readable program code,or instructions, embodied in or on the storage media. Any suitablecomputer-readable storage media may be utilized, including hard disks,CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or anycombination thereof. In addition, various signals representing data orevents as described herein may be transferred between a source and adestination in the form of electromagnetic waves traveling throughsignal-conducting media such as metal wires, optical fibers, and/orwireless transmission media (e.g., air and/or space).

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a computing device (or system) 101in a computer system 100 that may be used according to one or moreillustrative embodiments of the disclosure. The device 101 may have aprocessor 103 for controlling overall operation of the device 101 andits associated components, including RAM 105, ROM 107, input/outputmodule 109, and memory 115. The computing device 101, along with one ormore additional devices (e.g., terminals 141 and 151, security andintegration hardware 160) may correspond to any of multiple systems ordevices described herein, such as personal mobile devices, vehicle-basedcomputing devices, insurance systems servers, external data sources andother various devices in a risk unit based insurance system. Thesevarious computing systems may be configured individually or incombination, as described herein, for determining and/or providing oneor more risk units to a user, maintaining an account of risk units for auser, determining a rate at which a balance in the account may bereduced (e.g., based on various driving factor, external factors,traditional insurance factors, or the like), automatically refilling arisk unit account based on the balance reaching a predeterminedthreshold, and the like, using the devices of the risk unit basedinsurance systems described herein. In addition to the featuresdescribed above, the techniques described herein also may be used forgenerating and presenting insurance recommendations to customers,insurance underwriting, and other insurance-related tasks.

Input/Output (I/O) 109 may include a microphone, keypad, touch screen,and/or stylus through which a user of the computing device 101 mayprovide input, and may also include one or more of a speaker forproviding audio output and a video display device for providing textual,audiovisual and/or graphical output. Software may be stored withinmemory 115 and/or storage to provide instructions to processor 103 forenabling device 101 to perform various actions. For example, memory 115may store software used by the device 101, such as an operating system117, application programs 119, and an associated internal database 121.The various hardware memory units in memory 115 may include volatile andnonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any methodor technology for storage of information such as computer-readableinstructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Certaindevices and systems within risk unit based insurance systems may haveminimum hardware requirements in order to support sufficient storagecapacity, processing capacity, analysis capacity, network communication,etc. For instance, in some embodiments, one or more nonvolatile hardwarememory units having a minimum size (e.g., at least 1 gigabyte (GB), 2GB, 5 GB, etc.), and/or one or more volatile hardware memory unitshaving a minimum size (e.g., 256 megabytes (MB), 512 MB, 1 GB, etc.) maybe used in a device 101 (e.g., a personal mobile device 101,vehicle-based device 101, insurance system server 101, etc.), in orderto collect and analyze driver data, vehicle data, and/or driving tripdata, determine risk unit based insurance policy parameters, determinerate at which risk units are consumed during operation of a vehicle,etc., using the various devices of the risk unit based insurancesystems. Memory 115 also may include one or more physical persistentmemory devices and/or one or more non-persistent memory devices. Memory115 may include, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 105,read only memory (ROM) 107, electronically erasable programmable readonly memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM,digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store thedesired information and that can be accessed by processor 103.

Processor 103 may include a single central processing unit (CPU), whichmay be a single-core or multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core,quad-core, etc.), or may include multiple CPUs. Processor(s) 103 mayhave various bit sizes (e.g., 16-bit, 32-bit, 64-bit, 96-bit, 128-bit,etc.) and various processor speeds (ranging from 100 MHz to 5 Ghz orfaster). Processor(s) 103 and its associated components may allow thesystem 101 to execute a series of computer-readable instructions, forexample, determine a risk unit balance in a risk unit account, toreceive and analyze driver data, vehicle data, and/or driving trip data,determine a rate at which risk units are consumed (e.g., based onanalyzed driver data, vehicle data, external data, or the like), and/orautomatically refill a risk unit account balance upon determining thatthe balance has reached a predetermined threshold.

The computing device (e.g., a personal mobile device, vehicle-basedsystem, insurance system server, etc.) may operate in a networkedenvironment 100 supporting connections to one or more remote computers,such as terminals 141, 151, and 161. Such terminals may be personalcomputers or servers 141 (e.g., home computers, laptops, web servers,database servers), mobile communication devices 151 (e.g., mobilephones, tablet computers, etc.), vehicle-based computing systems 161(e.g., on-board vehicle systems, telematics devices, mobile phones orother personal mobile devices within vehicles), and the like, each ofwhich may include some or all of the elements described above withrespect to the computing device 101. The network connections depicted inFIG. 1 include a local area network (LAN) 125 and a wide area network(WAN) 129, and a wireless telecommunications network 133, but may alsoinclude other networks. When used in a LAN networking environment, thecomputing device 101 may be connected to the LAN 125 through a networkinterface or adapter 123. When used in a WAN networking environment, thedevice 101 may include a modem 127 or other means for establishingcommunications over the WAN 129, such as network 131 (e.g., theInternet). When used in a wireless telecommunications network 133, thedevice 101 may include one or more transceivers, digital signalprocessors, and additional circuitry and software for communicating withwireless computing devices 151 and 161 (e.g., mobile phones, portablecustomer computing devices, vehicle-based computing devices and systems,etc.) via one or more network devices 135 (e.g., base transceiverstations) in the wireless network 133.

Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is a security and integration layer 160,through which communications are sent and managed between the device 101(e.g., a personal mobile device, a vehicle-based computing device, aninsurance server, an intermediary server and/or external data sourceservers, etc.) and the remote devices (141, 151, and 161) and remotenetworks (125, 129, and 133). The security and integration layer 160 maycomprise one or more separate computing devices, such as web servers,authentication servers, and/or various networking components (e.g.,firewalls, routers, gateways, load balancers, etc.), having some or allof the elements described above with respect to the computing device101. As an example, a security and integration layer 160 of a server 101may comprise a set of web application servers configured to use secureprotocols and to insulate the device 101 from external devices 141, 151,and 161. In some cases, the security and integration layer 160 maycorrespond to a set of dedicated hardware and/or software operating atthe same physical location and under the control of same entities asdevice 101. For example, layer 160 may correspond to one or morededicated web servers and network hardware in a vehicle and driverinformation datacenter or in a cloud infrastructure supporting acloud-based vehicle identification and vehicle and driver data retrievaland analysis. In other examples, the security and integration layer 160may correspond to separate hardware and software components which may beoperated at a separate physical location and/or by a separate entity.

As discussed below, the data transferred to and from various devices ina risk unit based insurance system 100 may include secure and sensitivedata, such as confidential vehicle operation data, insurance policydata, and confidential user data from drivers and passengers invehicles. Therefore, it may be desirable to protect transmissions ofsuch data by using secure network protocols and encryption, and also toprotect the integrity of the data when stored on the various deviceswithin a personalized insurance system, such as personal mobile devices,vehicle-based devices, insurance servers, external data source servers,or other computing devices in the system 100, by using the security andintegration layer 160 to authenticate users and restrict access tounknown or unauthorized users. In various implementations, security andintegration layer 160 may provide, for example, a file-based integrationscheme or a service-based integration scheme for transmitting databetween the various devices in an electronic display system 100. Datamay be transmitted through the security and integration layer 160, usingvarious network communication protocols. Secure data transmissionprotocols and/or encryption may be used in file transfers to protect tointegrity of the data, for example, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), SecureFile Transfer Protocol (SFTP), and/or Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)encryption. In other examples, one or more web services may beimplemented within the various devices 101 in the system 100 and/or thesecurity and integration layer 160. The web services may be accessed byauthorized external devices and users to support input, extraction, andmanipulation of the data (e.g., vehicle data, driver data, driving tripdata, etc.) between the various devices 101 in the system 100. Webservices built to support a personalized display system may becross-domain and/or cross-platform, and may be built for enterprise use.Such web services may be developed in accordance with various webservice standards, such as the Web Service Interoperability (WS-I)guidelines. In some examples, a driver data, vehicle data, and/ordriving trip data analysis web service, a risk unit based insurancepolicy determination or offer web service, or the like, may beimplemented in the security and integration layer 160 using the SecureSockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol toprovide secure connections between servers 101 and various clients 141,151, and 161. SSL or TLS may use HTTP or HTTPS to provide authenticationand confidentiality. In other examples, such web services may beimplemented using the WS-Security standard, which provides for secureSOAP messages using XML encryption. In still other examples, thesecurity and integration layer 160 may include specialized hardware forproviding secure web services. For example, secure network appliances inthe security and integration layer 160 may include built-in featuressuch as hardware-accelerated SSL and HTTPS, WS-Security, and firewalls.Such specialized hardware may be installed and configured in thesecurity and integration layer 160 in front of the web servers, so thatany external devices may communicate directly with the specializedhardware.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, various elements within memory 115 orother components in system 100, may include one or more caches, forexample, CPU caches used by the processing unit 103, page caches used bythe operating system 117, disk caches of a hard drive, and/or databasecaches used to cache content from database 121. For embodimentsincluding a CPU cache, the CPU cache may be used by one or moreprocessors in the processing unit 103 to reduce memory latency andaccess time. In such examples, a processor 103 may retrieve data from orwrite data to the CPU cache rather than reading/writing to memory 115,which may improve the speed of these operations. In some examples, adatabase cache may be created in which certain data from a database 121(e.g., a database of driver data, driving behaviors or characteristics,passenger-related data, vehicle data, driving trip data, account balancedata, etc.) is cached in a separate smaller database on an applicationserver separate from the database server (e.g., at a personal mobiledevice, vehicle-based data, or intermediary network device or cachedevice, etc.). For instance, in a multi-tiered application, a databasecache on an application server can reduce data retrieval and datamanipulation time by not needing to communicate over a network with aback-end database server. These types of caches and others may beincluded in various embodiments, and may provide potential advantages incertain implementations of risk unit based insurance systems, such asfaster response times and less dependence on network conditions whentransmitting and receiving driver information, vehicle information,driving trip information, insurance parameters, account balanceinformation, and the like.

It will be appreciated that the network connections shown areillustrative and other means of establishing a communications linkbetween the computers may be used. The existence of any of variousnetwork protocols such as TCP/IP, Ethernet, FTP, HTTP and the like, andof various wireless communication technologies such as GSM, CDMA, WiFi,and WiMAX, is presumed, and the various computing devices in risk unitbased insurance system components described herein may be configured tocommunicate using any of these network protocols or technologies.

Additionally, one or more application programs 119 may be used by thevarious computing devices 101 within a risk unit based insurance system100 (e.g., vehicle data, driver data, and/or driving trip data analysissoftware applications, insurance parameter determination softwareapplications, risk unit account applications, etc.), including computerexecutable instructions for receiving and analyzing various driver data,vehicle data, and/or driving trip data, determining parameters for riskunit insurance policies, presenting risk unit based insurance policiesvia the devices in the risk unit based insurance system, determining arate at which risk units are consumed during operation of a vehicle, andevaluating and/or automatically refilling a balance of a risk unitaccount using the devices of the risk unit based insurance systems.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative risk unit basedinsurance system 200. The risk unit based insurance system 200 may beassociated with, internal to, operated by, or the like, an entity 201,such as an insurance provider. In some examples, the entity may be oneof various other types of entities, such as a government entity,corporation or business, university, or the like. Various examplesdescribed herein will be discussed in the context of an insuranceprovider. However, nothing in the specification should be viewed aslimiting use of the systems, methods, arrangements, etc. describedherein to use only by an insurance provider.

The risk unit based insurance system 200 may include one or more modulesthat may include hardware and/or software configured to perform variousfunctions within the system 200. The one or more modules may beseparate, physical devices or, in other examples, one or more modulesmay be part of the same physical device.

The risk unit based insurance system may include a risk unit module 202.The risk unit module 202 may be configured to determine a cost to insurean average user for a predetermined period of time. For instance, therisk unit module 202 may receive data, such as insurance data frominsurance data store 204, locality data from locality data store 206, aswell as other data (from data stores not shown that may be internal tothe entity 201 or external to the entity 201), and determine, based onthe received data, the cost to insure an average user over apredetermined period of time (e.g., one month, one week, one day, oneyear, or the like). This cost may be considered equivalent to one riskunit. Further, a cost to the user or insurance policy holder to purchasea risk unit may be determined by the system. This cost may be differentfrom the cost forming the risk unit and may be determined on a fixeddate. The cost to the user may then be revised at a second date (e.g.,monthly, annually, etc.). Accordingly, insurance may be provided to oneor more users based on risk units, as will be discussed more fullyherein.

The risk unit based insurance system 200 may further include a policymodule 208. The policy module 208 may generate and/or store insurancepolicies using risk units, as well as insurance policy information orfactors, such as vehicle information, driving record/experience, policylimits, deductibles, etc. That is, a user may be insured through apolicy that provides a number of risk units for a particular cost (e.g.,insurance premium). The risk units may then be consumed by the user as,for example, the user drives or operates his or her vehicle. The riskunits may be consumed based on sensor data-focused factors, such as timeelapsed, driving habits of the user, environmental conditions in whichthe user operates the vehicle, vehicle parameters (such as year, make,model, features, specifications, etc.), condition or performance of thevehicle (e.g., based on sensor data), and the like, as well astraditional policy factors, such as driving experience, driving record,credit variables, policy coverage, deductible, policy limits,familiarity of the driver with the vehicle or surroundings, and thelike. In some examples, one policy parameter may include a level ofcoverage. For instance, risk units may be purchased at various levelswith each level providing a different level of coverage, as will bediscussed more fully herein. Additionally or alternatively, theconsumption rate may reflect different levels of coverage.

The insurance policies based on risk units may further include a riskunit account stored in risk unit account module 210. The risk unitaccount module 210 may include one or more accounts associated with oneor more users (e.g., users having risk unit based insurance policies),vehicles (e.g., vehicles associated with a risk unit based insurancepolicy), or the like. The accounts may include information associatedwith a user such as name, address, contact information, and the like, aswell as information associated with the vehicle, such as vehicleidentification number, make, model, year, etc. Further, the accounts mayinclude a number of risk units associated with or available to the useror account holder, associated with the vehicle, etc. Accordingly, if auser has a risk unit based insurance policy that includes the purchaseof 100 risk units, the user account will show, at the purchase, 100 riskunits. As the risk units are consumed (e.g., by the user operating thevehicle, or the like) a balance of risk units in the account may bereduced. In some examples, the balance of risk units in an account maybe displayed to the user via a computing device, such as one or more ofcomputing devices 212 a-212 f. For instance, the risk unit accountbalance may be displayed via an application (e.g., online or mobileapplication) on a smartphone 212 a, personal digital assistant (PDA) 212b, tablet 212 c, cell phone 212 d, or other computing device 212 e. Insome examples, the risk unit account balance may be displayed to a useron a vehicle display 212 f. In addition to display of the accountbalance, various other account details may be displayed as desired.

In some arrangements, the risk unit account may include units of anothertype (e.g., other than risk units). For instance, the risk unit accountmay include an amount or balance of funds or money. The balance of fundsmay be reduced based on operation of the vehicle, as discussed above. Insome examples, the risk units may be converted to funds in order tofacilitate this reduction of balance (e.g., the consumption rate ofunits based on operation of the vehicle may be determined in risk unitsand then converted to funds in order to reduce the balance in theaccount appropriately). In other examples, the consumption rate may bedetermined in monetary units and the balance reduced as appropriate.Although various arrangements discussed herein will be described interms of consumption rate being determined in risk units and a balanceof an account including a number of risk units reduced accordingly,various other units may be used (e.g., monetary units) without departingfrom the invention.

The risk unit based insurance system 200 may further include a risk unitconsumption rate module 214. The risk unit consumption rate module 214may include hardware and/or software configured to determine and/orimplement a consumption rate of risk units due to operation of thevehicle (e.g., as the user operates the vehicle, the number or balanceof risk units in the risk unit account is reduced based on a determinedconsumption rate, thereby depleting the balance associated with thepolicy. Once the balance of risk units reaches a predeterminedthreshold, the number of risk units may be replenished, akin to renewalof a conventional insurance policy). As discussed above, the consumptionrate may be determined in risk units, monetary units or other units, asdesired.

As discussed above, the rate at which risk units are consumed by a user(e.g., by a user's operation of a vehicle) may be based on a variety offactors, such as personal information of the user, driving habits orbehaviors of the user, environmental conditions, locality or geographicconditions, types of road being travelled, traditional policy factors,coverage, vehicle features or operation, and the like. Variousalgorithms may be used to determine the consumption rate. For example,Equation 1 is one example that may be used to determine consumption ratebased on sensor data-focused factors may include:RC₁ =L ₁ ×R ₁ ×T ₁ ×B ₁ ×E ₁, where  Equation 1:

-   -   RC₁ is the Rate of Consumption;    -   L₁ is a location factor that may include population density,        traffic density, new route, commonly used route, and the like;    -   R₁ is a road condition factor that may include type of road,        road geometry, road hazards, and the like;    -   T₁ is a time of day factor;    -   B₁ is a driver behavior factor and may include braking rate,        acceleration rate, cornering, trip duration, swerving,        distracted driving, and the like; and    -   E₁ is an environmental factor that may include weather        conditions, contextual speed, and the like.

Equation 2 is another example that may be used to determine consumptionrate based on sensor data-focused factors, as well as traditional policyfactors, may include:RC₂ =O ₂ ×P ₂ ×V ₂ ×C ₂ ×L ₂ ×R ₂ ×T ₂ ×B ₂ ×E ₂, where  Equation 2:

-   -   RC₂ is the Rate of Consumption;    -   O₂ is an operator factor and may include driver age, gender,        marital status, driving experience, driving record, and the        like;    -   P₂ is a policy factor and may include credit variables, number        of vehicles associated with a policy or driver, number of        operators or drivers associated with a policy, prior insurance,        multiple policies, and the like;    -   V₂ is a vehicle factor and may include vehicle identification        number, aftermarket parts, vehicle features or specifications,        vehicle condition, maintenance history, and the like;    -   C₂ is a coverage factor and may include coverages provided,        policy or coverage limits, deductibles, and the like;    -   L₂ is a location factor that may include population density,        traffic density, new route, commonly used route, and the like;    -   R₂ is a road condition factor that may include type of road,        road geometry, road hazards, and the like;    -   T₂ is a time of day factor;    -   B₂ is a driver behavior factor and may include braking rate,        acceleration rate, cornering, trip duration, swerving,        distracted driving, and the like; and    -   E₂ is an environmental factor that may include weather        conditions, contextual speed, and the like.

In addition, either Equation 1 or Equation 2 may further include anexpenses factor. In some examples, an expenses value may be added to theresult of Equation 1 or Equation 2 in order to determine the consumptionrate.

Further, although Equation 1 and Equation 2 are provided as examples fordetermining consumption rate, various other equations and/or algorithmsmay be used without departing for the invention. For instance, one ormore factors may be removed from the equation to determine consumptionrate. Additionally or alternatively, other factors may be included inthe equations, without departing from the invention.

Accordingly, one or more sensors 216 may be used to obtain data that maybe used to determine the consumption rate for the user. For instance,the one or more sensors may include sensors to detect driving behaviorsof the user, such as hard braking, speeding, and the like. In anotherexample, one or more sensors may be used to detect environmentalconditions such as precipitation, humidity, cloud cover, or the like. Instill another example, one or more sensors may be used to determine roadconditions or to obtain information from outside sources (e.g., externaldatabases, or the like) regarding traffic conditions, types of road(e.g., two-lane road, four-lane road), speed limit of the road, or thelike. The data from one or more sensors 216, which may include data fromcombinations of different types of sensors, may be used by the risk unitconsumption rate module 214 to determine a risk unit consumption ratefor the user.

In examples in which the consumption rate is determined based ontraditional policy factors (either in combination with sensordata-focused factors or alone) the traditional policy factors, such asdriving record, credit information, driving experience, vehicle featuresand/or specifications, coverages, deductibles, policy limits, etc. maybe obtained from, for example, policy module 208. In some examples, therisk unit consumption rate may be determined or calculated for aparticular trip. Additionally or alternatively, the consumption rate maybe calculated or determined in real-time or near real-time, such thatthe rate may change as the user's driving behavior changes, as the typeof road changes, as the environmental conditions change, or the like.Thus, for example, if a user is driving at speed higher than the speedlimit and it is raining, the consumption rate may be higher than if theuser is driving at the speed limit and/or there is no precipitation.This is merely one example of how consumption rate may change based onreceived sensor data and should not be viewed as limiting the disclosureto only this example. Rather, various other changes in received sensordata may be used to modify or alter the risk unit consumption rate forthe user.

Similar to the risk unit account information, the risk unit consumptionrate may be displayed to a user, such as via one or more computingdevices 212 a-212 f. In some examples, the risk unit consumption ratemodule 214 may generate and/or display to a user suggestions forimproving the consumption rate. For instance, the system may generate analternate route that has been determined to be safer than the user'scurrent route and, thus, by taking the alternate route, the consumptionrate may be reduced. In another example, a user may be driving fasterthan a posted speed limit. The system may generate a notice to displayto the user (e.g., via a computing device 212 a-212 f) indicating that,by slowing down, the user's consumption rate may be reduced. These aremerely some examples of messages that may be displayed in order to aidthe user in reducing the consumption rate of the risk units. However,various other suggestions or driving behavior modifications may begenerated and provided to the user without departing from the invention.

The risk unit based insurance system 200 may further include a risk unitmarketplace 218. The risk unit marketplace 218 may be connected to or incommunication with various other modules within the system 200. In someexamples, the risk unit marketplace may be used to refill a user's riskunit account. For instance, upon the user reaching a predeterminedthreshold within the risk unit account of the user (e.g., the balance ofrisk units within the account reaches a certain threshold) the user maybe notified that the balance of risk units in the account is low and mayoffer one or more options for purchasing additional risk units orotherwise increasing the balance of risk units in the account.

For example, in some instances, upon reaching the threshold number ofrisk units within the account, a notification may be displayed to theuser (e.g., via one or more of computing devices 212 a-212 f) indicatingthat the balance is low and offering additional risk units for sale. Insome examples, the user may store credit card or other paymentinformation (e.g., account information, debit card information,electronic funds transfer information, and the like) in the system(e.g., within the risk unit marketplace 218) such that, upon receivingthe notification, the user may select a “purchase” option and apredetermined number of risk units may be purchased by the user andcharged to the stored payment information. In another example, the usermay select an automatic refill option. In such arrangements, a user mayinput payment information (e.g., credit card information, debit cardinformation, checking or other account information, electronic fundstransfer information, and the like) and may identify a predeterminedthreshold below which the system may automatically purchase additionalrisk units. These and various other arrangements will be discussed morefully below.

The risk unit marketplace 218 may also provide risk units for sale toother users or insurance providers. For instance, a user may obtaininsurance through a different insurance provider but the risk units maybe common units among a plurality of insurance providers. Accordingly,users having insurance policies with other providers may purchase riskunits from the risk unit marketplace 218 and may have the risk unitsplaced in an account associated with the policy provided by orassociated with the other insurance provider. In some examples, entity201 may charge a service fee or surcharge for purchase of risk units foruse with a policy provided by another insurance carrier.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an illustrative system driving analysis system300 including additional aspects of the risk unit based insurance system200 shown in FIG. 2 and/or implementing the risk unit based insurancesystem 200 of FIG. 2. The system includes a vehicle 310, a personalmobile device 330, an insurance system server 350, and additionalrelated components. As discussed below, the components of the system300, individually or using communication and collaborative interaction,may determine, present, and implement various types of risk unit basedinsurance to customers, including providing or facilitating purchase ofa risk unit based insurance policy and/or associated risk units,determining a consumption rate of risk units, communicating aconsumption rate to a user, generating and providing suggestions to auser for reducing consumption rate, etc. To perform such features, thecomponents shown in FIG. 3 each may be implemented in hardware,software, or a combination of the two. Additionally, each component ofthe system 300 may include a computing device (or system) having some orall of the structural components described above for computing device101.

Vehicle 310 in the system 300 may be, for example, an automobile, amotorcycle, a scooter, a bus, a recreational vehicle, a boat, or othervehicle for which vehicle data, location data, driver data (or operatordata), operational data and/or other driving data (e.g., location data,time data, weather data, etc.) may be collected and analyzed. Thevehicle 310 includes vehicle operation sensor 311 (similar to one ormore of sensors 216 a-216 c of FIG. 2) capable of detecting andrecording various conditions at the vehicle and operational parametersof the vehicle. For example, sensor 311 may detect and store datacorresponding to the vehicle's location (e.g., GPS coordinates), time,travel time, speed and direction, rates of acceleration or braking, gasmileage, and specific instances of sudden acceleration, braking,swerving, and distance traveled. Sensor 311 also may detect and storedata received from the vehicle's 310 internal systems, such as impact tothe body of the vehicle, air bag deployment, headlights usage, brakelight operation, door opening and closing, door locking and unlocking,cruise control usage, hazard lights usage, windshield wiper usage, hornusage, turn signal usage, seat belt usage, phone and radio usage withinthe vehicle, autonomous driving system usage, maintenance performed onthe vehicle, and other data collected by the vehicle's computer systems,including the vehicle on-board diagnostic systems (OBD).

Additional sensors 311 may detect and store the external drivingconditions, for example, external temperature, rain, snow, light levels,and sun position for driver visibility. For example, external camerasand proximity sensors 311 may detect other nearby vehicles, vehiclespacing, traffic levels, road conditions, traffic obstructions, animals,cyclists, pedestrians, and other conditions that may factor into adriving data/behavior analysis. Sensor 311 also may detect and storedata relating to moving violations and the observance of traffic signalsand signs by the vehicle 310. Additional sensors 311 may detect andstore data relating to the maintenance of the vehicle 310, such as theengine status, oil level, engine coolant temperature, odometer reading,the level of fuel in the fuel tank, engine revolutions per minute(RPMs), software upgrades, and/or tire pressure.

Vehicles sensor 311 also may include cameras and/or proximity sensorscapable of recording additional conditions inside or outside of thevehicle 310. For example, internal cameras may detect conditions such asthe number of the passengers and the types of passengers (e.g. adults,children, teenagers, pets, etc.) in the vehicles, and potential sourcesof driver distraction within the vehicle (e.g., pets, phone usage, andunsecured objects in the vehicle). Sensor 311 also may be configured tocollect data identifying a current driver from among a number ofdifferent possible drivers, for example, based on driver's seat andmirror positioning, driving times and routes, radio usage, etc.Voice/sound data along with directional data also may be used todetermine a seating position within a vehicle 310. Sensor 311 also maybe configured to collect data relating to a driver's movements or thecondition of a driver. For example, vehicle 310 may include sensors thatmonitor a driver's movements, such as the driver's eye position and/orhead position, etc. Additional sensors 311 may collect data regardingthe physical or mental state of the driver, such as fatigue orintoxication. The condition of the driver may be determined through themovements of the driver or through other sensors, for example, sensorsthat detect the content of alcohol in the air or blood alcohol contentof the driver, such as a breathalyzer, along with other biometricsensors.

Certain vehicle sensors 311 also may collect information regarding thedriver's route choice, whether the driver follows a given route, and toclassify the type of trip (e.g. commute, errand, new route, etc.) andtype of driving (e.g., continuous driving, parking, stop-and-go traffic,etc.). In certain embodiments, sensors and/or cameras 311 may determinewhen and how often the vehicle 310 stays in a single lane or strays intoother lane. A Global Positioning System (GPS), locational sensorspositioned inside the vehicle 310, and/or locational sensors or devicesexternal to the vehicle 310 may be used to determine the route, speed,lane position, road-type (e.g. highway, entrance/exit ramp, residentialarea, etc.) and other vehicle position/location data.

The data collected by vehicle sensor 311 may be stored and/or analyzedwithin the vehicle 310, such as for example a driving analysis computer314 integrated into the vehicle, and/or may be transmitted to one ormore external devices. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, sensor data maybe transmitted via a telematics device 313 to one or more remotecomputing devices, such as personal mobile device 330, insurance systemserver 350, and/or other remote devices.

As shown in FIG. 3, the data collected by vehicle sensor 311 may betransmitted to an insurance system server 350, personal mobile device330, and/or additional external servers and devices via telematicsdevice 313. Telematics device 313 may be one or more computing devicescontaining many or all of the hardware/software components as thecomputing device 101 depicted in FIG. 1. As discussed above, thetelematics device 313 may receive vehicle operation data and drivingdata from vehicle sensor 311, and may transmit the data to one or moreexternal computer systems (e.g., insurance system server 350 of aninsurance company, financial institution, or other entity) over awireless transmission network. Telematics device 313 also may beconfigured to detect or determine additional types of data relating toreal-time driving and the condition of the vehicle 310. The telematicsdevice 313 also may store the type of vehicle 310, for example, themake, model, trim (or sub-model), year, and/or engine specifications, aswell as other information such as vehicle owner or driver information,insurance information, and financing information for the vehicle 310.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, telematics device 313 may receivevehicle driving data from vehicle sensor 311, and may transmit the datato an insurance system server 350. However, in other examples, one ormore of the vehicle sensors 311 or systems may be configured to receiveand transmit data directly from or to an insurance system server 350without using a telematics device. For instance, telematics device 313may be configured to receive and transmit data from certain vehiclesensors 311 or systems, while other sensors or systems may be configuredto directly receive and/or transmit data to an insurance system server350 without using the telematics device 313. Thus, telematics device 313may be optional in certain embodiments.

The system 300 in FIG. 3 also includes a mobile device 330. Mobiledevices 330 may be, for example, smartphones or other mobile phones,personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet computers, and the like, andmay include some or all of the elements described above with respect tothe computing device 101. As shown in this example, some mobile devicesin systems 300 (e.g., mobile device 330) may be configured to establishcommunication sessions with vehicle-based devices and various internalcomponents of vehicle 310 via wireless networks or wired connections(e.g., for docked devices), whereby such mobile devices 330 may havesecure access to internal vehicle sensors 311 and other vehicle-basedsystems. However, in other examples, the mobile device 330 might notconnect to vehicle-based computing devices and internal components, butmay operate independently by communicating with vehicle 310 via theirstandard communication interfaces (e.g., telematics device 313, etc.),or might not connect at all to vehicle 310.

Mobile device 330 may include a network interface 321, which may includevarious network interface hardware (e.g., adapters, modems, wirelesstransceivers, etc.) and software components to enable mobile device 330to communicate with insurance system server 350, vehicle 310, andvarious other external computing devices. One or more specializedsoftware applications, such as a driving analysis application 334 and/ora risk unit based insurance application 335 may be stored in the memoryof the mobile device 330. The driving analysis application 334 and riskunit based insurance application 335 may be received via networkinterface 321 from the insurance server 350, vehicle 310, or otherapplication providers (e.g., application stores). As discussed below,the driving analysis application 334 and risk unit based insuranceapplication 335 may or may not include various user interface screens,and may be configured to run as user-initiated applications or asbackground applications. The memory of the mobile device 330 also mayinclude databases configured to receive and store vehicle data, drivingdata, driving trip data, and the like, associated with one or moredrivers and/or vehicles.

Like the vehicle-based computing devices in vehicle 310, mobile device330 also may include various components configured to generate and/orreceive vehicle data, driver data, and driving data or other operationaldata. For example, using data from the GPS receiver 333, a drivinganalysis software application 334 may be able to identify starting andstopping points of driving trips, determine driving speeds, times,routes, and the like. Additional components of mobile device 330 may beused to generate or receive driving data for the driving data analysisapplication 334 and/or risk unit based insurance application 335, suchas an accelerometer, compass, and various cameras and proximity sensors.As discussed below, these and other mobile device components may be usedto receive, store, and output various user/driver data, to identifystarting and stopping points and other characteristics of driving trips,to determine various driving data such as speeds, driving routes andtimes, acceleration, braking, and turning data, and other drivingconditions and behaviors. In some implementations, the driving analysissoftware application 334 may store and analyze the data from variousmobile device components, and the risk unit based insurance application335 may use this data, alone or in any combination with other componentsor devices (e.g., insurance server 350), to determine and presentinsurance offers, insurance costs, and the like.

When mobile computing devices within vehicles are used to detect vehicledriving data and/or to receive vehicle driving data from vehiclesensors, such mobile computing devices 330 may store, analyze, and/ortransmit the vehicle driver data (e.g., data identifying a currentdriver), driving data (e.g., speed data, acceleration, braking, andturning data, and any other vehicle sensor or operational data), anddriving trip data (e.g., driving route, driving times, drivingdestinations, etc.), to one or more other devices. For example, mobilecomputing device 330 may transmit driver data, driving data and drivingbehaviors, and driving trip data directly to one or more insuranceservers 350, and thus may be used in conjunction with or instead oftelematics devices 313. Moreover, the processing components of themobile computing device 330 may be used to identify vehicle drivers andpassengers, analyze vehicle driving data, analyze driving trips,determine parameters related to aspects of risk unit based insurancepolicies, and perform other related functions. Therefore, in certainembodiments, mobile computing device 330 may be used in conjunctionwith, or in place of, the insurance system server 350.

Vehicle 310 may include driving analysis computer 314, which may beseparate computing devices or may be integrated into one or more othercomponents within the vehicle 310, such as the telematics device 313,autonomous driving systems, or the internal computing systems of vehicle310. As discussed above, driving analysis computers 314 also may beimplemented by computing devices independent from the vehicle 310, suchas mobile computing device 330 of the drivers or passengers, or one ormore separate computer systems (e.g., a user's home or office computer).In any of these examples, the driving analysis computer 314 may containsome or all of the hardware/software components as the computing device101 depicted in FIG. 1. Further, in certain implementations, thefunctionality of the driving analysis computers, such as storing andanalyzing driver data, vehicle data, driving data and driving behaviors,and determining, presenting, and implementing aspects of risk unit basedinsurance polies, may be performed in a central insurance system server350 rather than by the individual vehicle 310 or personal mobile device330. In such implementations, the vehicle 310 and and/or mobile device330, might only collect and transmit driver data, vehicle data, drivingdata, and the like to an insurance server 350, and thus thevehicle-based driving analysis computer 314 may be optional.

The system 300 also may include one or more insurance system servers350, containing some or all of the hardware/software components as thecomputing device 101 depicted in FIG. 1. The insurance system server 350may include hardware, software, and network components to receive driverdata, vehicle data, and vehicle operational data/driving data from oneor more vehicles 310, mobile devices 330, and other data sources. Theinsurance system server 350 may include an insurance database 352 andrisk unit based insurance system 351 to respectively store and analyzedriver data, vehicle data, and driving data, etc., received from vehicle310, mobile device 330, and other data sources. In some examples, therisk unit based insurance system 351 may include many or all of thecomponents of risk unit based insurance system 200 described withrespect to FIG. 2.

The insurance system server 350 may initiate communication with and/orretrieve driver data, vehicle data, and driving data from vehicle 310wirelessly via telematics device 313, mobile device 330, or by way ofseparate computing systems over one or more computer networks (e.g., theInternet). Additionally, the insurance system server 350 may receiveadditional data from other third-party data sources, such as externaltraffic databases containing traffic data (e.g., amounts of traffic,average driving speed, traffic speed distribution, and numbers and typesof accidents, etc.) at various times and locations, external weatherdatabases containing weather data (e.g., rain, snow, sleet, and hailamounts, temperatures, wind, road conditions, visibility, etc.) atvarious times and locations, and other external data sources containingdriving hazard data (e.g., road hazards, traffic accidents, downedtrees, power outages, road construction zones, school zones, and naturaldisasters, etc.), route and navigation information, and insurancecompany databases containing insurance data (e.g., driver score,coverage amount, deductible amount, premium amount, insured status) forthe vehicle, driver, and/or other nearby vehicles and drivers.

Data stored in the insurance database 352 may be organized in any ofseveral different manners. For example, a driver table in database 352may contain all of the driver data for drivers associated with theinsurance provider (e.g., driver personal information, insurance accountinformation, demographic information, accident histories, risk factors,driving scores and driving logs, etc.), a vehicle table may contain allof the vehicle data for vehicles associated with the insurance provider(e.g., vehicle identifiers, makes, models, years, accident histories,maintenance histories, travel logs, estimated repair costs and overallvalues, etc.), and a driving trip table may store all of the drivingtrip data for drivers and vehicles associated with the insuranceprovider (e.g., driving trip driver, vehicle driven, trip time, startingand ending points, route driven, etc.). Other tables in the database 352may store additional data, including data types discussed above (e.g.traffic information, road-type and road condition information, weatherdata, insurance policy data, etc.). Additionally, one or more otherdatabases of other insurance providers containing additional driver dataand vehicle data may be accessed to retrieve such additional data.

The risk unit based insurance system 351 within the insurance systemserver 350 may be configured to retrieve data from the database 352, ormay receive driver data, vehicle data, and driving trip directly fromvehicle 310, mobile device 330, or other data sources, and may performdriving data analyses, determine insurance parameters for risk unitbased insurance policies, and other related functions. The functionsperformed by the risk unit based insurance analysis system 351 may beperformed by specialized hardware and/or software separate from theadditional functionality of the insurance system server 350. Suchfunctions may be similar to those of driving analysis module 314 ofvehicle 310, and the driving analysis and risk unit based insuranceapplications 334 and 335 of mobile device 330, and further descriptionsand examples of the algorithms, functions, and analyses that may beexecuted by the risk unit based insurance system 351 are describedbelow, including in reference to FIGS. 4-9.

In various examples, the driving data and driving trip analyses and/orrisk unit based insurance determinations may be performed entirely inthe insurance system server 350, may be performed entirely in thevehicle-based driving analysis computing module 314, or may be performedentirely in the driving analysis and risk unit based insuranceapplications 334 and 335 of mobile device 330. In other examples,certain analyses of driver data, vehicle data, and driving trip data,and certain risk unit based insurance determinations may be performed byvehicle-based devices (e.g., within driving analysis module 314) ormobile device 330 (e.g., within applications 334 and 335), while otherdata analyses and risk unit based insurance determinations are performedby the risk unit based insurance system 351 at the insurance systemserver 350. For example, a vehicle-based driving analysis computer 314,or the hardware and software components of mobile device 330 maycontinuously receive and analyze driver data, vehicle data, driving tripdata, and the like to determine certain events and characteristics(e.g., commencement of a driving trip, identification of a driver,determination of a driving route or intended destination, driving dataand behaviors during driving trips, etc.), so that large amounts of dataneed not be transmitted to the insurance system server 350. However, forexample, after driver, vehicle, and/or driving trip is determined by avehicle-based device and/or mobile device, corresponding information maybe transmitted to the insurance server 350 to perform insurance offerand cost determinations, determine consumption rate of risk units,generate one or more recommendations for reducing consumption rate, etc.which may be transmitted back to the vehicle-based device and/orpersonal mobile devices.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating one example method of providing riskunit based insurance to a user, according to one or more aspectsdescribed herein. In step 400, a risk unit is determined. As discussedabove, the risk unit may be a common insurance unit that represents acost to insure an average user for a predetermined period of time. Forinstance, the risk unit may be determined to be the cost to insure anaverage user for one week, one month, one year, etc. The risk unit maybe used to provide insurance such that users may obtain risk unit basedinsurance policies in which, as the user, for example, operates avehicle, the number of risk units in a risk unit account account isreduced based on a consumption rate determined for the user, trip, etc.These and other aspects are discussed more fully herein.

In step 402, a request is received to obtain a risk unit based insurancepolicy. The request may be received from a user and may be received, insome examples, via a computing device (e.g., mobile device, or thelike). The request may include information associated with the user,such as name, contact information, vehicle information including make,model, year, vehicle identification number, and the like. In someexamples, the request to obtain the risk unit based insurance policy mayinclude a level of coverage. For instance, similar to conventionalinsurance policies, a user may select from different levels ofprotection (e.g., whether to include collision coverage, amount ofcoverage for personal property, and the like). Similarly, a user mayselect a level of risk unit on which the policy is based. In oneexample, three levels may be used with the highest level of risk unitproviding the most coverage and, in some instances, having the highestcost (e.g., cost per risk unit) to the user. A second level wouldprovide lower coverage at a lower cost and the third level may provide alowest level of coverage at a lowest cost. In another example, differentlevels of coverage selected may be reflected in the consumption rate ofthe units. For instance, the consumption rate may vary based on a levelof coverage selected. Although different levels of coverage may beavailable to a user, the levels offered may meet minimum standards forinsurance coverage, such as those required by the state in which theuser lives, or the like.

Further, although three levels of risk units are described in the aboveexample, more or fewer levels of risk unit, and, accordingly, insurancecoverage, may be provided without departing from the invention.

In step 404, a risk unit based insurance policy is generated for theuser and a risk unit account is created for the user. The risk unitaccount may be associated with the user or the vehicle. That is, therisk unit based insurance policy may provide coverage for the vehicle,regardless of which user is operating the vehicle, or may providecoverage to any vehicle being operated by a particular user. Thus, insome examples, the user or operator of a vehicle may be identified(e.g., upon initiation of vehicle operation) in order to determinewhether or what type of coverage to provide.

In step 406, a predetermined number of risk units is deposited into theaccount created. The predetermined number or risk units may be based onone or more policy parameters (e.g., term or length of policy), and/orone or more user preferences.

In step 408, data associated with the driving behaviors of the userand/or environmental conditions in which the vehicle is operating arereceived. As discussed above, the data may be received from one or moresensors associated with the vehicle, as well as various other sources,such as traffic, weather, road condition, etc. sources. As discussedherein, received data may include speed, braking habits of the user oroperator, type of road(s) being travelled, time of day, level oftraffic, precipitation, and the like.

Based on the data received, a consumption rate of risk units in the riskunit account may be determined in step 410. As discussed herein, theconsumption rate may be higher based on various behaviors and/orconditions that are determined to include more risk to the user,vehicle, etc. For instance, if a user is driving at a rate of speedabove the speed limit, the consumption rate may be higher than if theuser was operating at a speed closer to the speed limit. In anotherexample, the consumption rate may be determined to be lower if the usertravels outside of rush hour, rather than during peak travel times. Instill another example, the consumption rate may increase if data isreceived that it is raining or snowing on the route which the vehicle istravelling. As discussed above, consumption rate may also be based, atleast in part, on traditional policy factors, such as drivingexperience, driving record, credit factors, coverages, deductibles, andthe like. Data related to various behaviors and conditions and/ortraditional policy data, may be combined to determine the consumptionlevel in real-time or near real-time, as the user is operating thevehicle. Accordingly, the system may provide information associated withthe consumption rate to the user. For instance, the vehicle display ormobile device of the user may display the current consumption rate. Inanother example, the display may include historical informationassociated with consumption rate for previous trips and/or a graphicaldisplay of previous and/or current consumption rates.

FIG. 5 illustrates one example user interface 500 that may be provide toa user (e.g., via a vehicle display, mobile device, or other computingdevice) to provide information associated with the consumption rate. Theinterface 500 includes fields 502 and 504 in which the vehicle andoperator of the vehicle are identified, respectively. Field 506indicates a date and time of the current trip. In some examples, anelapsed time of the current trip may also be displayed.

Field 508 indicates that data is being received. As discussed herein,data associated with one or more sensors detecting driving behaviors ofthe user, environmental conditions, and the like, may be received by thesystem and used to determine a current consumption rate. Field 508provides an indication that data is currently being received. In theevent of a communication disruption, field 508 may indicate that data isnot being received or that an error has occurred. In some examplesituations of that nature, the system may apply the most recentlydetermined consumption rate until data communication is restored andmore current data is received by the system.

Field 510 provides the current calculated or determined consumptionrate. As described herein, the consumption rate may be based on avariety of factors that may include driving behaviors, environmentalconditions, and the like, as determined based on data received by thesystem. Field 512 provides a listing of historical consumption rateinformation that may be useful to the user in tracking consumption rate.

With further reference to FIG. 4, in step 412, a balance of risk unitsin the risk unit account is reduced based on the consumption ratedetermined in step 410. As the balance in the risk unit account isreduced, the account may include a predetermined threshold below whichthe user may be notified that the balance of risk units is low or inneed of replenishment. For instance, in step 414, a determination ismade as to whether a balance of risk units in the risk unit account isbelow a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold may bebased on one or more policy parameters, may meet a government or otherregulatory body standards, or may be determined by the user or insuranceprovider. In some examples, the threshold may be a percentage of anumber of risk units obtained with the policy (e.g., a percentage of thefull account balance). For instance, the threshold may be 10%, 15% orany other percentage of the full number of risk units obtained with thepolicy. In other examples, the threshold may be a number of risk units.For instance, the threshold may be 50, 100, or any other number of riskunits.

If, in step 414, the balance in the risk unit account is at or above thepredetermined threshold, the process may return to step 408 to continuereceiving data and determining consumption rate. If, in step 414, thebalance is below the predetermined threshold, one or more refill optionsmay be provided to the user in step 416. Refill options may includeproviding a notification to the user of the current balance and/orproviding options for automatic refill, user requested refill,cancellation of policy, purchase of a new policy and associated riskunits, and the like. Once the refill options are presented, the systemmay return to step 408 to continue receiving data, etc.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method of refilling risk units accordingto one or more aspects described herein. In step 600, similar to step414 in FIG. 4, a determination is made as to whether a balance of riskunits in a risk unit account is below a predetermined threshold. If not,the system may return to processes in which data is received,consumption rate is determined, etc., such as step 408 in FIG. 4. If, instep 600, the balance is below the threshold, a notification istransmitted to the user in step 602. The notification may include anindication that the risk unit account is below the threshold and/or mayprovide instructions for refill of the account.

In step 604, a determination is made as to whether the account is set upfor automatic refill. That is, the system may determine whether the userhas preselected an option to automatically refill a balance in theaccount (e.g., by automatically purchasing additional risk units usingpre-stored payment information). If so, the system may automaticallypurchase the predetermined number of units, charge any cost to thepre-stored payment information (e.g. credit card information, accountinformation, debit card information, etc.), and deposit the risk unitspurchased in the account in step 606.

If, in step 604, it is determined that the account is not set forautomatic refill, in step 608, the user may respond to the notificationtransmitted in step 602 with a request to refill the account balance.The request may include a number of units to purchase, paymentinformation, risk unit account information, policy information, and thelike. In step 610, the designated number of risk units may be purchasedand deposited in the risk unit account.

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate example user interfaces 700 a-700 d that may beused to carry out refill or replenishment of risk units in a risk unitaccount. Although interfaces 700 a-700 d are shown in FIGS. 7A-7D asbeing displayed on a mobile device, the interfaces provided may bedisplayed on various different types of computing devices, including,for instance, a vehicle display, laptop or desktop computing device,tablet computing device, and the like.

FIG. 7A illustrates interface 700 a in which a notification is providedto the user. The notification 700 a indicates that the risk unit accountis below the minimum threshold and provides options for the user toproceed with refilling the account balance now or requesting that thesystem remind the user later. Selection of the option to remind the userlater may automatically prompt the notification to be displayed again ata predetermined time (e.g., each day, each hour, 48 hours from selectionof remind me later option, etc.) or upon any continued consumption ofthe risk units. Accordingly, as the balance in the risk unit accountcontinues to be reduced, additional notifications may be provided to theuser. In some examples, determination of the balance being below apredetermined level (e.g., below the level for refill notification) mayresult in various actions being taken with respect to the vehicle. Forinstance, the system may cause the headlights to flash or horn to blarewhile driving, may prevent the vehicle from starting if there is aninsufficient number of risk units in the account, or the like.

Upon selection of yes option in 700 a, interface 700 b shown in FIG. 7B,or similar interface, may be displayed in which the user may input oneor more risk unit account details, such as an account number and/or nameassociated with the account. In some examples, this information mayautomatically be prefilled based on the mobile device being associatedwith the user, vehicle, and/or account. The user may select continueoption to prompt display of interface 700 c in FIG. 7C, or similarinterface, which provides fields in which the user may enter paymentinformation. Information such as a credit card number, expiration date,name on the card, and the like, may be provided by the user. Althoughcredit card information is provided as example payment information inFIG. 7C, various other payment types may be used, such as electronicfunds transfer, debit card, pre-paid debit or credit card, gift card, orthe like.

Upon selection of continue option, interface 700 d in FIG. 7D, orsimilar interface, may be provided to the user. Interface 700 d includesa field in which the user may indicate a number of risk units topurchase. In some examples, the risk units may be a predetermined numberof units based on one or more policy parameters. In other examples, thenumber of units available for purchase may be determined by the user andinput into interface 700 d.

User interface 700 d further includes an option to select automaticrefill. Indication of “yes” to automatic refill prompts the system tostore the payment information provided in interface 700 c and, upon thesystem determining that the balance of risk units is below thepredetermined threshold (e.g., step 414 in FIG. 4, step 600 in FIG. 6)the system may automatically purchase the predetermined number of riskunits, charge the associated cost to the pre-stored payment information,and deposit the purchased risk units in the risk unit account, therebyeffectively automatically renewing insurance for the user.

FIG. 8 illustrates one example method of determining proposedrecommendations for reducing risk unit consumption rate according to oneor more aspects described herein. In step 800, data associated withdriving behaviors of the user and/or environmental conditions may bereceived. As discussed above, data may include speed, braking habits,level of precipitation, road conditions, time of day, traffic level, andthe like. Based on the received data, a risk unit consumption rate maybe determined in step 802. In some examples, the risk unit consumptionrate may also be based on one or more factors associated with the user.For instance, accident history, length of time as licensed driver,credit rating, policy limits, policy deductibles, vehicle features, andthe like, may, in some examples, be used in determining a risk unitconsumption rate.

In step 804, one or more driving behavior or environmental conditionmodifications may be identified that may aid in reducing the risk unitconsumption rate. For instance, if a user is driving on a road that isknown as being in poor condition (e.g., potholes, poor lane markings,etc.), the system may indicate that, by changing the route to thedestination, the user may reduce his or her consumption rate. In someexamples, a recommended modification identified to aid in reducing riskunit consumption rate may include modifications to more traditionalpolicy factors, such as policy coverage, deductibles and/or limits,vehicle operation and/or maintenance, vehicle features, and the like.

In some examples, the modifications to reduce consumption rate may beidentified by comparing received data with a database storing knownconditions, behaviors, roads, environmental factors, and the like, thatare associated with a reduced consumption rate. The database may storeinformation such as historical travel information, accident historyinformation, accident probability information, etc. that may becollected based on insurance data received by the insurance provider.For instance, the data associated with current speed may be compared toa posted speed limit for the current road (as stored in the database orreceived from an outside source) and, if the current speed is higherthan the posted speed limit, a modification to slow the speed of thevehicle in order to reduce consumption rate may be identified.

In another example, the received data may indicate that the current roadis congested or is experiencing heavy traffic. The system may comparethe current traffic information to levels of traffic that would resultin a reduced consumption rate and may recommend modifying the routebeing travelled. In some examples, the suggested modification mayinclude a suggested alternate route.

Various other driving behavior and/or environmental conditionmodifications may be identified based on the received data and/orhistorical data, stored data, and the like. The examples describedherein are merely some examples and are not intended to limit themodifications or types of modifications identified by the system.Rather, various other modifications may be identified without departingfrom the invention.

In step 806, the identified modifications may be display to the user.For instance, one or more of the recommended modifications to reduceconsumption rate may be displayed to the user via a computing device,such as a mobile device, vehicle display, or the like.

FIG. 9 illustrates one example user interface 900 displaying recommendedmodifications for reducing consumption rate according to one or moreaspects described herein. The interface includes region 902 in which thecurrent risk unit consumption is provided to the user. The interface 900further includes region 904 in which one or more suggested drivingmodifications are provided to the user. As data is received by thesystem from one or more vehicle sensors, the risk unit consumption ratemay change and the revised consumption rate may then be displayed. Insome examples, audio may accompany the notification. For instance, thenotification may include an audio portion in which the text of thenotification is stated to the user, thereby reducing the user's need toread the notification.

While the aspects described herein have been discussed with respect tospecific examples including various modes of carrying out aspects of thedisclosure, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there arenumerous variations and permutations of the above described systems andtechniques that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A risk unit based system, comprising: an on-boardvehicle computing device including at least one processor and at leastone memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed bythe at least one processor, cause the on-board vehicle computing deviceto: receive, from at least one sensor arranged on a vehicle, real-timedriving data associated with at least one of: a user operating a vehicleand an environment in which the vehicle is being operated; analyze, inreal-time, the received driving data to determine a consumption rate ofrisk units associated with an insurance policy associated with thevehicle, each risk unit representing a cost to insure an average userfor a predetermined period of time; transmit, to an insurance systemserver and using a secure transmission protocol, the determinedconsumption rate of the risk units; the insurance system server havingat least one processor and at least one memory storing computer-readableinstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe insurance system server to: receive, from the on-board vehiclecomputing device, the determined consumption rate of the risk units;reduce a balance of risk units in a risk unit account associated withthe user based on operation of the vehicle from a first balance of riskunits to a second balance of risk units, wherein a rate at which thebalance of risk units is reduced is based on the determined consumptionrate; determine whether the second balance of risk units in the riskunit account is below a predetermined threshold; responsive todetermining that the second balance of risk units is below thepredetermined threshold: provide a notification to the user that thesecond balance of risk units is below the predetermined threshold,wherein providing the notification further includes: requesting userinput associated with adding a number of additional risk units to therisk unit account; and requesting user input associated with paymentinformation for paying a cost of purchasing the additional risk units.2. The risk unit based system of claim 1, wherein the notification isprovided to the user via a mobile device of the user.
 3. The risk unitbased system of claim 1, wherein the notification is provided to theuser via a vehicle display associated with the on-board vehiclecomputing device.
 4. The risk unit based system of claim 1, wherein thepayment information includes at least one of: credit card information,checking account information, and debit card information.
 5. The riskunit based system of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory of theinsurance system server further stores computer-readable instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the insurancesystem server to: receive user input requesting postponement ofaddressing the balance of risk units being below the predeterminedthreshold; and after a predetermined time period, transmit a secondnotification to the user that the balance of risk units in the risk unitaccount is below the predetermined threshold.
 6. The risk unit basedsystem of claim 5, wherein the second notification is transmitted to amobile device of the user.
 7. The risk unit based system of claim 1,wherein the determining whether the balance of risk units in the riskunit account is below a predetermined threshold is performed afterreducing the balance of risk units in the risk unit account based on thedetermined consumption rate.
 8. A risk unit based system, comprising: amobile device including at least one processor and at least one memorystoring computer readable instructions that, when executed by the atleast one processor, cause the mobile device to: receive, from at leastone sensor sensing operational parameters of a vehicle, real-timedriving data associated with at least one of: a user operating a vehicleand an environment in which the vehicle is being operated; analyze, inreal-time, the received driving data to determine a consumption rate ofrisk units associated with an insurance policy associated with thevehicle, each risk unit representing a cost to insure an average userfor a predetermined period of time; transmit, to an insurance systemserver and via a secure transmission protocol, the determinedconsumption rate of the risk units; the insurance system server havingat least one processor and at least one memory storing computer-readableinstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe insurance system server to: receive, from the mobile device, thedetermined consumption rate of the risk units; reduce a balance of riskunits in a risk unit account associated with the user based on operationof the vehicle from a first balance of risk units to a second balance ofrisk units, wherein a rate at which the balance of risk units is reducedis based on the determined consumption rate; determine whether thesecond balance of risk units in the risk unit account is below apredetermined threshold; responsive to determining that the secondbalance of risk units is below the predetermined threshold: provide anotification to the user that the balance of risk units is below thepredetermined threshold, wherein providing the notification furtherincludes: requesting user input associated with adding a number ofadditional risk units to the risk unit account; and requesting userinput associated with payment information for paying a cost ofpurchasing the additional risk units.
 9. The risk unit based system ofclaim 8, wherein the notification is provided to the user via the mobiledevice.
 10. The risk unit based system of claim 8, wherein thenotification is provided to the user via a vehicle display associatedwith an on-board vehicle computing device.
 11. The risk unit basedsystem of claim 8, wherein the payment information includes at least oneof: credit card information, checking account information, and debitcard information.
 12. The risk unit based system of claim 8, wherein theat least one memory of the insurance system server further storescomputer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the insurance system server to: receive user inputrequesting postponement of addressing the balance of risk units beingbelow the predetermined threshold; and after a predetermined timeperiod, transmit a second notification to the user that the balance ofrisk units in the risk unit account is below the predeterminedthreshold.
 13. The risk unit based system of claim 12, wherein thesecond notification is transmitted to the mobile device.
 14. The riskunit based system of claim 8, wherein the determining whether thebalance of risk units in the risk unit account is below a predeterminedthreshold is performed after reducing the balance of risk units in therisk unit account based on the determined consumption rate.
 15. One ormore non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by at least one computing device, causethe at least one computing device to: receive, from at least one sensorarranged on a vehicle, real-time driving data associated with at leastone of: a user operating a vehicle and an environment in which thevehicle is being operated; analyze, in real-time, the received drivingdata to determine a consumption rate of risk units associated with aninsurance policy associated with the vehicle, each risk unitrepresenting a cost to insure an average user for a predetermined periodof time; reduce a balance of risk units in a risk unit accountassociated with the user based on operation of the vehicle from a firstbalance of risk units to a second balance of risk units, wherein a rateat which the balance of risk units is reduced is based on the determinedconsumption rate; determine whether a balance of risk units in the riskunit account is below a predetermined threshold; responsive todetermining that the balance of risk units is below the predeterminedthreshold: provide a notification to the user that the balance of riskunits is below the predetermined threshold, wherein providing thenotification further includes: requesting user input associated withadding a number of additional risk units to the risk unit account; andrequesting user input associated with payment information for paying acost of purchasing the additional risk units.
 16. The one or morenon-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein thenotification is provided to the user via a mobile device of the user.17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15,wherein the payment information includes at least one of: credit cardinformation, checking account information, and debit card information.